Key Takeaways:
The stock of stablecoin giant Circle (CRCL) gained 11% on Friday after on-chain data showed that the company had minted $500 million worth of USDC – the largest dollar-pegged stablecoin by market capitalization after Tether’s USDT.
This fresh issuance comes on the heels of the company’s arch rival, Tether, getting downgraded by the credit rating firm S&P Global from “constrained” to “weak” on Wednesday, November 26.
According to a Friday X post by Arkham Intelligence, the 500 million USDC mint occurred in two separate transactions on the Solana blockchain, valued at $250 million each. This uptick in issuance reflects a broader expansion in stablecoin supply following the $20 billion flash crash on October 10, which saw Bitcoin (BTC) slide 10% to trade below $110,000 and Ethereum (ETH) fall about 20% to under $3,500.
On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that the latest mint means that Circle and Tether have collectively poured $17.75 billion in fresh USDC and USDT capital into the market since the flash crash.
The analysts noted that such large-scale mints are typically used for hedging or buying cryptocurrencies at lower prices, as they inject massive liquidity into the market.
CryptoQuant data shows that among the $17.75 billion in total stablecoins issued over the past 30 days, some were the largest short-term issuance bursts of the year, particularly the $775.8 million minted on October 10 and $771 million minted on October 11. More than $1.75 billion in fresh USDT and USDC entered the market at the end of the day on October 11. By October 22, a total of $7 billion in fresh stablecoins had been minted post-crash.
Before Friday’s mint, Circle issued $500 million USDC on Solana on November 25. This addition raised the total USDC supply on the blockchain to roughly $10 billion.
However, Tether’s USDT remains the most dominant stablecoin on Ethereum and other blockchains, with its supply of 182 billion tokens accounting for roughly 58% of all stablecoins that currently exist in the market. Comparatively, USDC has a total supply of around 76 billion tokens.
Historic data shows that large-scale stablecoin mints often precede market rebounds, as many investors view these fiat-backed cryptocurrencies as dry powder to be deployed as prices stabilize.
Analysts suggest that increased stablecoin supply means traders are preparing to buy BTC and ETH once their prices hold above recent lows. Still, risks persist, as the October-November sell-offs were triggered by macro shocks, hawkish sentiments by the Federal Reserve, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Contrary to popular belief, those headwinds have not fully abated, as some analysts noted that despite amplified stablecoin liquidity, if bitcoin fails to reclaim key support levels, then it could leave the broader crypto market vulnerable to further downside.
Circle’s stock, CRCL, had dipped below its March 2025 IPO price of $69 earlier this week, as a result of a broader market weakness. However, on Wednesday, it started to gain momentum after S&P Global downgraded Tether to the lowest possible score of its stability scale, assigning it a “weak” rating of 5.
The credit ratings and benchmark analytics agency cited the company’s increased exposure to risk assets like bitcoin and ongoing gaps in reserve transparency as the reasons behind the downgrade. BTC accounts for 5.6% of Tether’s USDT reserves, far exceeding the stablecoin’s overcollateralization margin of 3.9%.
S&P Global highlighted that Bitcoin’s larger share in Tether’s reserves has increased undercollateralization risk for USDT during market stress. They also criticized the stablecoin issuer for limited disclosure on custodians, counterparties, and the creditworthiness of its banking partners, noting a lack of asset segregation and redeemability protections.
Tether strongly disagreed with the S&P Global assessment, claiming that the rating was based on a “legacy framework”, while asserting the stability and resilience of USDT over the years to become the largest stablecoin by market cap.
Despite the downgrade, USDT has maintained its parity with the dollar through past downturns, a key point that was acknowledged by S&P in its report.
Nevertheless, market participants are keenly observing whether the $17.75 billion stablecoin injection will translate to fresh buying and a market-wide rebound. If the recovery fails, then the surplus dollars on the sideline could boost stablecoin turnover volume without immediately lifting prices.
In either case, analysts argue that the next phase of the crypto market cycle will be defined by the unprecedented scale of new stablecoin supply as traders eagerly await a market recovery signal.
Circle (NYSE: CRCL) ended the trading week and the November 28 market session at $79.93 – up 6.65%.
Also Read: Upbit $30 Million Hack Update: Investigators Point to North Korean Hacking Group “Lazarus.”
The post Circle Mints $500M in USDC on Solana as Stablecoin Supply Tops $17.7B Post-Crash appeared first on BiteMyCoin.
Also read: Bitcoin Didn’t Crash From Selling—It Crashed Because Buyers Disappeared. Can BTC Price Recover?
